Tech Tuesday: Report Indicates Home Phones Nearly Extinct

A report from the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) revealed that the number of American homes with only wireless telephones continues to rise at a remarkable rate, while landline home phone use continues to plummet.

According to the survey, 39.4% of homes had only wireless telephones during the first half of 2013—an increase of 1.2 percentage points since the second half of 2012. In addition, 15.7% received all or almost all calls on wireless telephones despite also having a landline telephone. This report presents the most up-to-date estimates available from the federal government concerning the size and characteristics of these populations.
A look at phone trends during the past decade provides greater contextual perspective. See the graph below.

Findings from the survey include:

Nearly two-thirds of adults aged 25–29 (65.6%) lived in households with only wireless telephones. This rate is greater than the rates for those aged 18–24 (54.3%) or 30–34 (59.9%). The percentage of adults living in households with only wireless telephones decreased as age increased beyond 35 years: 44.5% for those aged 35–44; 29.8% for those aged 45–64; and 12.6% for those aged 65 and over.

Three in four adults living only with unrelated adult roommates (74.7%) were in households with only wireless telephones. This rate is higher than the rates for adults living alone (46.4%) and for adults living only with spouses or other adult family members (29.6%).

Three in five adults living in rented homes (61.5%) had only wireless telephones. This rate is more than twice the rate for adults living in homes owned by a household member (27.2%).

Adults living in poverty (54.7%) were more likely than adults living near poverty (47.5%) and higher income adults (35.3%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.

Men (39.7%) were more likely than women (36.5%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.

In today’s mobile-centered communication culture , the latest findings regarding hardline home phone usage should come as no surprise to consumers.